Version 3.0
Updated September, 1998
Supersedes version 2.5
Differences, Changes and Additions to
PRUDENT FOOD STORAGE: Questions & Answers
From the House at Cat's Green
Alan T. Hagan
Currently published to sites on the
World Wide Web around the globe.
********* SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE *********
This Version 3.0 update of the Prudent Food Storage FAQ includes a
first time event. An increasing number of people have been asking for a
printed and bound copy of the FAQ, apparently as a response to the Year
2000 computer problem and other Millennial concerns. With the aid of my
partner, Bob Hollingsworth, we have formatted, printed and bound Version
3.0 to honor these requests. Naturally, since we have spent a good deal
of our time and a not inconsiderable amount of our cash in doing this we
are not giving it away for free, but are charging $15.00 (US) per copy
plus $3.00 shipping and handling (US Postal Service Priority Mail). My
postal address may be found at the end of this file, or you may e-mail
me.
This print edition will be available for only for a limited time.
The reason for this is that I am presently at work on "The Prudent
Pantry: Your Guide to Building A Food Insurance Program", my first
commercial work. When completed it will contain all of the content of
this FAQ plus a good deal more that I don't presently cover such as
storage program planning, inventory control, storage locations, the best
foods to store, grain mills & other equipment, water storage and
purification along with expedient sanitation.
At this time I am not ready to give either a firm publication date
or cover price for *The Prudent Pantry*, but I am hoping for early
spring of 1999. When it is ready to go to press I will stop printing
bound FAQ copies. Due to the ever growing size of the work (presently
over 300k) I can no longer post the FAQ to the Usenet. I will, of
course, continue to make the FAQ updates available online via host sites
on the World Wide Web even after the book hits the street.
CARPE DIEM!
********* SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE ***** SPECIAL NOTE **********
VERSION 3.00
Major revision from Version 2.5
#1. Added a section on the use of Mylar bags.
#2. Revised food date section and added substantial new text
concerning deciphering dating codes of some product lines.
#3. Added shelf life chart for a number of common storage foods.
#4. Updated the suppliers section, dropping the defunct businesses
and adding a number of new ones. New suppliers of oxygen absorbers,
desiccants, Mylar bags and can sealers have been added.
#5. Made technical changes and corrections to the section on
determining moisture contents of foods.
#6. Substantially revised and expanded storage containers section,
particularly what is and is not suitable for food use.
#7. Revised inert gas section (dry ice and compressed gasses),
including the use of carbon dioxide for fumigation and the use of vacuum
processes in packaging.
#8. Revised oxygen absorber section, with important new information
added.
#9. Substantially expanded the Resources section for new
information sites, books and software.
#10. Expanded the section on the use of desiccants in food
packaging. New desiccants have been added and greater technical detail.
#11. Greatly expanded the sections on LDS Family Canneries and how
best to go about using one.
#12. Numerous minor corrections and additions throughout the entire
body of the FAQ.
#13. Added section on the reuse or recycling of used storage
containers.
#14. The FAQ is now posted only to World Wide Web sites due to space
limitations. I would have to break it up into nine volumes to ensure
that all files would make it across newsgroup servers and that is just
too unwieldy.
VERSION 2.50
Major revision from Version 2.0
#1. Straightened out Table of Contents and Section/sub-section
labeling differences as well as cleaning up the Acknowledgements.
#2. Broke the Usenet posting into five volumes from the previous
version release of four volumes. The web site edition is posted as a
single file.
#3. Added detailed text concerning use of compressed gas in food
storage.
#4. Made various text revisions and clarifications to make the FAQ
more understandable for readers outside the U.S. Some of the changes
are in Corn, Sugar, Syrups, Fats and Oats.
#5. Added section concerning use of Family Canneries belonging to
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons) by
non-Mormons (gentiles) in Section IV.A.2.A Storage Containers.
#6. Corrected error in "use by" dating in Section I Shelf Lives.
#7. Moved II.A.4 Storing Grains and Legumes to new location,
Section IV.B 1. Dry Ice
2. Compressed Nitrogen and CO2
#8. Moved desiccant information from Section II.A.4 to Section IV.D
1. What is a desiccant?
2. Where do I find desiccants?
3. How do I use desiccants?
#9. Put in a paragraph concerning the Specific Equipment Questions
subsection for more complete information dealing with storing dry milks.
#10. Section IV Specific Equipment Questions. Struck the paragraph
asserting that all #2 HDPE plastic is food safe. My earlier information
may not have been correct.
#11. Revised the fats subsection. Added text on extending shelf
life of cooking oils through use of BHT. Section II.E.2
#12. Moved shelf lives of some common storage foods and dating
codes used by some food manufacturers out of appendices and made them a
new Section V. The appendices were Section VI before. Moved food and
equipment suppliers out of appendices and combined them with the old
Section V Other Sources and made them new Section VI.
#13. Put in new address for Countryside and Small Stock Journal.
#14. Updated and corrected the addresses in suppliers subsection.
Added a number of new ones.
#15. Added paragraph concerning raw sugar in the sugar subsection.
#16. Added a line to the Important Note in the diatomaceous earth
section concerning reading the label to be certain nothing potentially
harmful has been added to the DE.
#17. Updated and revised section on kosher salt, rock salt and
halite.
#18. Broke down and added detail to the oxygen absorbers, desiccant
and diatomaceous earth sections.
#19. Categorized suppliers list by types.
#20. Added an information and software sources to resources
section.
#21. Numerous corrections in spelling, grammar, formatting and some
minor factual content.
VERSION 2.10
No change or addition to content. Volume One was much too long and
caused problems with some servers. For this reason I broke it up so
that the FAQ is now comprised of FOUR volumes instead of THREE.
VERSION 2.00
Major revision from Version 1.0.
1. The original section one with nutrition and menu planning has
been dropped. The references I have been relying upon now seem to be
outdated and I need to do a lot more research before I attempt to give
nutritional advice.
2. The original section two has been broken into three sections now
labled as:
Section One: How Do I Store The Foods I've Chosen?
Section Two: How Do I Keep It From Going Bad?
Section Three: What Equipment Do I Need?
Where Can I Find Equipment and Supplies?
At 3100 lines the original was just too large and cumbersome to be
easily worked with and some people complained their servers were killing
the file without them being able to see it. In the not-too-distant
future I'll probably have to break it down to five sections as I flesh
out some of the other thinly detailed areas of the work.
3. Revised Section One:II.A.4.4 concerning use of O2 absorbers in
packaging grains and legumes.
4. Added a cautionary note in Section Three:IV.C Oxygen Absorbers
concerning the partial vacuum created inside of storage containers by
oxygen absorption packets when used without flushing with inert gas.
5. Added a post from Geri Guidetti in Section Three:VI.B Dating
Codes Used By Some Food Manufacturers. Also included something from the
same post by her on shelf lives of food.
6. Added an appendix in Section Three:VI.C Food and Equipment
Suppliers. It's a big list with even more suppliers waiting to be
found. Eventually I think it will be made into a section of its own.
Included is a short piece on what you should know and need to ask when
ordering from mail order suppliers.
7. Added entries in Section One:II.Y.Baking soda
Section One:II.Y Herbs and Spices
Section One:II.Y.Vinegar
Section One:II.Y.Yeast
8. Corrected an error concerning moisture percentages in popcorn and
the order of desirability of the various forms oats in Section
One:II.A.1
9. Changed my e-mail address to athagan@sprintmail.com. Please make
any necessary changes. The old address is still good, but anything sent
to it will be delayed in being received and/or answered.
10. Numerous minor style and editing changes.
VERSION 1.01
Essentially just a repost of Version 1.00 with about the only
difference being a correction of the spelling of Leslie Basel's name (sorry
about that Leslie).
VERSION 1.00
Original post.
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Comments, orders, questions, suggestions, submissions, etc may be sent
to the e-mail address below:
athagan@sprintmail.com
Postal address:
A.T. Hagan
P.O. Box 140008
Gainesville, Fl 32614-0008